Starting right after where we left off, I finished my food, washed my hands with the cold current of our sink. Not much later, I brushed my teeth, preparing for bed. That's when a sudden strike hit me. My heart beating like a drum, the world going black and blurry, bangs and heat filling my head as I walk my way across the bathroom door to my room.
Bang! The door goes as I fall onto the soft embrace of a mattress, contrasting the sharp pains littered across my entire body. Tearing apart at the seams, that's what it felt like to me. I felt like a plaything being abused by a child. And suddenly... Black... Darkness enveloped me as I slipped into the burning cold of a night's sleep.
Everything felt vivid. It was almost real. The lights shining in my eyes, the colors of deep space invading my vision. The very colors themselves converging into me, then releasing like a tide of energy sent away to dissipate and displace whatever it was that they came across. After this occurence, I see myself, fighting like a madman enveloped by black tendrils mixed with a greenish hue, fighting a white-haired human, if you could even call it that. We both looked like monsters from where I was watching. As the fight drew on, I saw myself lose the very arms used to fight the beast.
Gasps of air, grasping out to the image, I awaken, finding the streaks of sunlight from my window entering my periphery. I was sweating bullets. I look down at my arms and feel them. They were still fine. Maybe that was just a vision... a vision of what it would be like to be a hero... Maybe in another world, it happened, maybe not. The beating of my heart thumped like policemen using a battering ram against my ribcage. Breathe. Breathe deep, Midoriya. Keep your composure, don't make mom worry.
As I began to stand, I felt energy coursing through my veins, more so than usual. Maybe it was a calling to run amok in the morning, not unfamiliar in the eyes and fleeting feet of a track and field athlete. I made breakfast for my mother and me. Eating the well made bacon and pancakes with eggs, I enjoyed eating much more, like I was aware of each bite. I change into running clothes, hugging my form, causing a familiar embrace and tightness. I fixed my messy green hair, then prepared water, and I headed out to run myself tired, or as close as I could get to it.
Rubber soles crash against the asphalt of the city, each step feeling like a hammer crashing up his feet. The first 30 minutes were smooth sailing for me, but as more and more time passed, I became a mess, gassed. Stopping for a minute to catch my breath, I hear cries for help in an alleyway, hidden in the dark. It sounded like a woman crying and grunting.
Breath that ran cold through my nose as I snuck into the alley, trying not to be seen. I spot a group of five people beating up a woman with dirty blonde hair, blood spilling from their lips. "Come on, you monster. Don't you just want a bit of fun? You're lucky enough that people still find you attractive despite your hunger. It'll feel good, I promise.. Stop resisting, and I won't have to hurt you any more, right fellas?" The group of men tried to undress the girl in a school uniform. At the sight, my blood ran cold, and my instincts told me to call for help. And just like that, I rush in without thinking, and in a blink, I pop up right in front of the main person. Without much thought, my fist crashed into the adult's face, feeling like the momentum of my punch was stronger for reasons unknown to me as of yet. Two of the men rush my sides, with the third one following suit. I take the girl from the ground into my arms. "Please, let me save this girl." I beg God, despite not even being religious, "Lend me strength."
Suddenly, I made a huge distance in less than a second, crashing with the girl into a corner hidden from the group of men. I drop the civilian off. "Stay right here, okay? Please stay quiet, and hide." Eyes dart back to an area where the clicks of shoes against cold concrete were evident. "Come out, fucker! We know you're here." Silhouettes cast forward, I see their faint shadows across the confined alley. I quickly dial 110 before leaving my phone in the arms of the girl. "Hold this, and answer, I'll distract them... please." She nods as bits and pieces of her broken voice escape in the form of groans and squeaks. "Thank you.." I stand and look for anything to help fend off the group.
After finding the metallic top of a bin, I slowly face the shadows getting closer. "So, what's the move here?" I quip as the men rush in again, coming in from all angles. A punch gets thrown, to which I respond by blocking with the lid, pushing back, and going down to sweep their feet when they get caught off-guard. I slam the side of the lid into the man's face, after which I'm thrown to the ground by two of the other men. Acid rose up from my stomach as I hit the ground, burning the inside of my mouth and causing me to wretch. I get kicked while I'm down, but I tense my muscles before each impact to lessen the damage. After a final stomp on my back, I roll and throw the lid into the guy's head; instead, it hits the person throwing kicks by the chest, and they hold their guts as I dodge through two other goons throwing punches, rushing to the guy I hit with the lid. I punch the guy, and he staggers, after which I catch him in a triangle choke, knocking him out from the lack of air. Two down, three to go.
As I get up from the triangle choke, I get hit by compressed hair that knocks me forward by a medium distance. How far? I don't know, but it was powerful enough to make my head land on a metal pipe. The impact made my vision transform into pulsing darkness, with the taste of metal evident in my mouth. The only things I could "see" were outlines of my surroundings, although the colors were mostly gone and replaced by darkness. I felt tipsy and could see floaters in my peripherals, which could mean severe blood loss. I continue to fight, even with my lack of vision and orientation. A sound plays, like a whirring, when another air shot hits my guarded arms, and I rush in the direction of the shot. Trying my best to remain agile to dodge possible hits again.
In this state, my blind spots were even more vulnerable, which the people exploited. I get grabbed from behind by whip-like appendages. I hold onto them and pull them in with a sudden spin, shocking the quirk user as they get closer, slicing through the air. As I hear a familiar whirring in front of me, I use the whip-guy to block the force. After using them to block the blows, I deliver a blow to their liver with my knee, knocking them out and resetting their quirk. I use the unconscious person's body to close in on the direction of the wind cannon guy as I begin to regain some vision after spitting out blood. I push the body into the wind guy stopping them from firing another shot as I use it as a distraction to get behind the person before locking them in a chokehold, which turns into a suplex, driving their head over my back and into the ground, knocking them out.
I hear a scream from behind me and my blood runs even colder, and my heart begins to beat against my bones again, rattling every bone in my body as my hairs raise. I watch the last person begin to chase the crawling girl, pulling at their brown loafers. I feel a sudden surge of energy again as I close the distance. Out of breath, I didn't care anymore, and I let a kick loose into the person's groin. After that, I pulled his head by his hair and slammed it down on the concrete, only hard enough to knock them out. With blurry vision and adernaline pumping through my body, I look at the girl who was scared out of her mind. "Please tell me you're alright.." Before even a moment of her voice could be heard, my body fell forward into the hard concrete, as the faint sounds of sirens popped into my ears.
Heavy eyelids hard to open were blinded by the cold and uncaring light above their owner's head. The owner being me. I struggled to move as my body was sore, particularly my core, back, arms, and entire head. I only then realized the bandaged state of my body as the smell of sweat, coffee, wood, and antiseptic invaded my nostrils. Darting around, my eyes begin to adjust to the light as I see the girl laying in a similar bed to the left of the bed I was laying on. "Where am I?" I asked the blonde haired girl. "Shizuoka Saiseikai General Hospital. The police got the bad guys... we got dropped off into here, the ER." I nod lightly. "I see... How are you? Are you okay?" The girl responds with "Yes. You're the one who's more damaged, and you're worrying about me." I eye roll at the prospect.
"Sorry, I do tend to do that. I never caught your name." The girl names herself. "Toga.. Toga, Himiko. Thank you again..." I smile. "It's no problem, Toga. Midoriya. Midoriya, Izuku. Nice to formally meet you." The double door opens as my mother bursts through, crying enough tears to flood the Sahara. "Hi mom.." Wailing and hugs that seemed to last for hours ended abruptly as she asked, "WHAT HAPPENED, IZUKU? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DEAR BOY?" She wailed, "It's nothing, mom; I just helped that girl, Toga, to the left."
My mother looked at me with tear-filled eyes and an unimpressed look. "This is clearly not nothing, young man." She shifts her focus to Toga "Are you alright? Since Izuku won't tell me what happened, could you?" Toga nods curtly "He... He saved me, ma'am. I was beign attacked by 5 men.. they were beating me and they were... they were gonna..." Toga tears up as she recalls the blood-curdling action the men were planning. "Shhh, dear. It's alright.. I get the gist of it now, thank you. I'm glad my son helped you, young lady."
The calming voice of my mother did little, but it did help make Toga not panic more than she already was. "Breathe, I bought food for my son, but there's enough for you too. It'll help you increase your iron, I heard it lessens anxiety." She opens a container holding a hefty amount of pork blood stew, otherwise called diniguan, a dish that originates from the Philippines. We saw the recipe in an exotic cook book we bought in the past that had recipes from Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, India, and other countries in Asia. I'm getting sidetracked. The pork blood stew was good for people with low iron, and knowing I lost a lot of blood, I needed it too. "Thank you, mom."
Mom also packed rice for me, which I decided to share with Toga from the other bed, splitting it into half portions as mom went out to get some fresh air. "You're gonna love her cooking. She's the best." Toga smiled at that. "I could tell." We ate in silence, enjoying the flavorful and aromatic dish prepped by the one and only, Inko Midoriya. As we ate in peace, the silence was thick, peaceful. I decided to break it, of course. "Was I using a quirk when I saved you? Or was I just that messed up in the head back then?" She turns towards me, saying, "You looked like a blur the first time I saw you, so yeah, maybe you were." I gain a puzzled look in retort. "Uh-huh.. that's strange." She shoots back. "Why so?" I look down at the sheets and my bandaged body before turning back to her. "I'm quirkless." Her mouth gaping open, she says, "Huh? Are you a late bloomer? I've never heard of a person gaining a quirk at... how old are you?" I sternly look at her wearing a furrowed brow. "14, turning 15." She nods weakly. "Yeah, point still stands-"
The door flew open with a doctor beaming through, using a quirk that seemingly analyzed the human anatomy of the observed. She gets close to Toga, analyzing and explaining. "You have bruising along your upper back, arms, ankles, and thighs. All in all, you'll be fine with time; I can recommend you taking care of it on your own at home if capable. As for you, young man... Dear me... You suffered a concussion, broken ribs, and blood loss. I suggest staying confined here for around 3-6 weeks depending on how quickly you recover. Those injuries are no joke." I grimace at the thought that I would spend weeks confined here, but I relent from those thoughts as I weighed the pros and cons of letting myself be confined, finding that pros outweighed most of the cons. "I understand. Is she gonna be discharged later?" The doctor nods. "I see."
The doctor leaves through the same doors he used to enter, probably to write reports and prepare Toga for her discharge. "Take care. It was nice meeting you, even under such circumstances." Toga smiles slightly and replies, "Will do; thank you again for saving me." An underlying guilt repressed in her voice.
After a few hours of us watching the public television, comforting darkness soon took hold of me again as I felt exhausted from sustaining the injuries, unaware of Toga's quick separation of paths. As time passed, vivid dreams once again showed themselves. This time, it was a version of me fighting in an unfamiliar terrain, somewhere I'd never been before. The ground was ablaze as silhouettes surrounded me. Once a strike landed on that version of me's chest, I awoke from the deep slumber I had been hypnotized into by the TV.
I checked my chest, filled with panic, and then I remembered the pain that was dulled by the adrenaline I got when I woke up. Spreading like a plague dancing on my skin, crawling under it, and invading my space, the burning sensation drew close. Quickly becoming a sharp knife dragging across my chest, causing heaved breaths to be drawn.
Thank the Lord, I was comforted by the sight of my mother sleeping in a chair, laying her head down near my legs. I rationalize myself again as I think back on what happened when I saved Toga. The more answers I hypothesized, the more questions I got in return. Before I could get even more confused, I set my sights on resting. A lot of resting.
God knows how long 3 or 6 weeks felt like to a child who needed to train like his life depended on it.
Ch. end!
Author's Note: This is my first time writing a story, constructive criticism and suggestions are welcome. I honestly just made this because I thought of a cool concept for a quirk (T -T)